How you can reduce anxiety in one simple step

OK, so we are all guilty at one time or another of having high expectations of ourselves. We can be our own worst enemies. Remember last time saying to yourself:…

‘You are just being silly and stupid!’ when you made a mistake…? Or last time you were so worried about something going wrong that you ended up not doing it…? If you act like this every day, it may be more than just a phase… You are not alone though. There are many people who feel they have to be the best in something, or do something perfectly. Whether you work in a large corporate or you are a business owner, the high expectation on yourself can have the same effect: anxiety.

The first thing that can be useful to reduce anxiety is admitting that you are in fact being over-anxious. And it’s often easy to spot it: inability to switch off, worrying about the future, not sleeping well, or being highly emotional… these are all signs that you could be more anxious than the average level of anticipation. The awareness is essential to this process as without it you won’t know that you need to do anything about it. Awareness of what is making you anxious is another valuable step, as this is where you can focus your actions on in order to relax. If the reason is because you are trying to be perfect, then it means no mistake is allowed, no question unanswered, and no room for being imperfect. Planning every single eventuality, and worrying about them day and night.

As you recognise that you are in fact trying to be a perfectionist, you can easily see why you are anxious. It is impossible to be perfect, and so by expecting yourself to be perfect you are setting yourself for a failure before you even get out of bed. And as soon as you make even the slightest mistake you can lose temper with yourself, be harsh to yourself and beat yourself up… Sounds familiar? Then read on, as it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can stop it right now. You can look in the mirror and say to yourself: It is OK to be imperfect, it is OK to make mistakes, it is OK to just be OK, rather than perfect. And notice how this gives you so much more room to breathe, making it so much easier for you to relax. You can still grow, you can still learn lessons and improve, but without the debilitating anxiety, and instead by simply being curious about how you can do things better. Relax, it is OK to be imperfect…We all are!

Sometimes it may be beneficial to see someone who can help you see things from a different perspective, and reduce high expectations of yourself, and relax… and Hypnotherapy can be a really useful way to achieve this. If you would like to know more, contact Anna on 07966151680 or email annafinn@leics-hypnotherapy.co.uk.